Lessons from the AMP and Illegal Alien Controversies

In the world of digital brands and social media, people have power over brands like never before. Well, yes and no.

This time last week the tweet meter looked like a fan, so fast people were registering their outrage on Twitter about the new AMP energy drink iPhone app that let guys shoot lame pick-up lines and alert friends in the unlikely event they scored. Surely, the conventional wisdom went, PepsiCo would pull the app immediately rather than risk brand damage.

To the soft drink brand’s credit, they apologized to anyone offended by the app. But, to the surprise and chagrin of the offended, the good folks at AMP returned to selling energy drinks and kept the app on the shelves of Apple App Store.

Contrast that with this week’s consumer brouhaha – the sale of a Halloween mask depicting an obvious space invader with a heavy mustache. Think E.T. meets Frito Bandito (for those of us of a certain age), hence the name “Illegal Alien.”

Once the complaints started on- and off-line, Target and other retailers (rightfully) pulled the costume faster than Speedy Gonzales could say “Andale`!”

Why did outrage have immediate effect in one case and seemingly none in the other?

Simple. Because the people offended by the Amp iPhone app are not buying Amp drinks and aren’t going to do so. Offended Target shoppers, on the other hand, are far more likely to leave stores shelves clogged unsold items.

So what lessons can we learn from these two events?

If you’re a consumer, use your brand power wisely and pick your battle’s carefully. You may be offended by a company’s products or actions, but shooting at the wrong brand – one that isn’t likely to care if they’re in the bull’s eye because you have no relevance to the brand – only diminishes the power people have to influence business decisions.

Adult women complaining about an obscure, downloadable iPhone app attached to a product purchased in bulk by twenty-something single males is the wrong group to prompt action. Parents and social advocates complaining about an offensive product targeted to children are the perfect people to force change in Halloween costumes.

If you’re a marketer, make sure you really do know your customers/prospects and the people who influence them before launching a controversial product or promotion. Be ready to pull the plug in a nano-second, but also be confident enough to know that not all critics are right and not all criticism requires a dramatic response.

You can't ignore the conversation, but sometimes, all you need to do is agree to disagree.